Comparative studies on morpho-physiological traits of six Amazonian species of Bellucia and Miconia (Melastomataceae) and implications for their ecological behaviour.
Plants of six species from the Melastomataceae family (Miconia spp. and Bellucia spp.) taken from secondary forest stands of Terra Firme near Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, were studied with regard to growth form, biometric traits of the plants, morphological and anatomical characteristics of leaves and wood. In addition, plant biomass and the content of mineral nutrients of different parts of the plants were analysed, and xylem flux measurements were carried out to determine the specific water uptake of the plants. The aim of the studies was to detect causal links between the parameters measured and the ecological behaviour of the species as observed in the field, in order to provide an autecological description of the species. The results show that the plant biomass of the species studied is negatively correlated with leaf sizes, with the percentage of leaf biomass related to total biomass and with the specific water uptake of the species examined. The species with large leaves show large differences in water uptake between the rainy and the dry season, whereas these differences are not found in the species with smaller leaves. The pattern of nutritional elements in roots, trunk, twings and leaves in species of small plant biomass differs from those of large biomass. These sets of traits indicate different strategies for an economic use of resources in a changing environment duringa progressive succession. The results obtained are discussed with regard to their general importance for the secondary vegetation and for successional processes in the study area, beyond the species studied.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Parte de livro biblioteca |
| Language: | English eng |
| Published: |
1999
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| Subjects: | Brasil, Amazonas, Manaus, Sustainability, Anatomia, Andiroba, Carapa Guianensis, Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Floresta Tropical Úmida, Madeira, Manejo, Reflorestamento, forest management, reforestation, tropical rain forests, wood anatomy, |
| Online Access: | http://www.infoteca.cnptia.embrapa.br/infoteca/handle/doc/668432 |
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